A man who said he was abused by the disgraced star claimed he saw Savile dragging the girl away a day before she was found dead

Police have launched an investigation into whether or not Jimmy Savile was involved in the death of a young girl from a care home.

A witness who said he was also attacked by the disgraced star claims to have seen him drag the girl away from Roecliffe Manor children's home in Leicestershire in the 1960s.

The next day the girl, called either April or Elizabeth, was found dead, but the report could not be corroborated.

Leicestershire Police today said that an investigation into the claim "is ongoing".

The allegations were made as a report was released into Roecliffe Manor children's convalescent home that concluded that sexual abuse is "likely to have taken place".

However its extent could not be known, and it "has not been possible to associate Jimmy Savile with the abuse".

The report's author Sue Walters, acting on behalf of University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said her investigation had been "challenging" because the allegations into the home in the village of Woodhouse Eaves dated back over 50 years.

She concluded the evidence of two victims who alleged sexual abuse had taken place was "convincing", and has passed their complaints to police for further investigation.

However, the report found no evidence to link Savile directly with that abuse, other than the claim made by the complainant, who was recovering from tuberculosis between the ages of four and nine.

"Other than the informant, no other individual interviewed, or record read, made reference to Jimmy Savile (JS) being present at Roecliffe Manor," the report read.

Ms Walters concluded the evidence she had seen was "not of sufficient strength in nature to enable the lead investigator to conclude that the man who abused the Informant was in fact JS."

The victim's allegations first came to light when he contacted Operation Yewtree investigators, who have looked into hundreds of claims of abuse at Savile's hands, claiming he was abused by the former DJ on at least four occasions.

He told Ms Walters a man "called Jimmy" would come to the home, bringing books and film reels, and "would have us kissing and cuddling him".

The victim told her "he managed to make you feel loved and cared for" but had later abused him.

On a few occasions, the man said he and another little girl were taken from Roecliffe in the back of a camper van by Savile and a male friend, who had an Irish or Scottish accent.

He said that when taken out of the home, they would go to a motorway service station or for picnics.

The alleged abuse took place between 1959 and 1964.

Referring to the separate allegation where a girl "was seen, by the informant, being dragged away by someone who he states was JS and a friend", the report concluded it could not corroborate the claim.

The victim said he was told the following day by the home's matron that the child, who was the girl he travelled with in the camper van, had died.

But Ms Walters found "no reference to the death of a child at Roecliffe Manor".

She added the victim came across as "a sincere and honest individual" and gave a "consistent account of his memories of his time at Roecliffe".

The report stated a further allegation of sex abuse at a children's home in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, not involving Savile, has also been referred on to the police.

Ms Walters' report made four recommendations to the trust and the children's home's successor charity, ARC Leicester, including new policies around VIP and celebrity visits, supervision for volunteers, and ensuring the adoption of a culture of "it could happen here" when drawing up new procedures.

The report has also been sent to the Department of Health.

Welcoming the findings, Carole Ribbins, the NHS trust's nursing director, said that despite the report's conclusion that sexual abuse was "likely to have taken place" it had not been possible to corroborate whether Savile had been responsible, nor if he had ever visited Roecliffe.

She added the trust already had "very robust processes in place to protect children and vulnerable adults".

"However, we are not complacent and we are in the process of implementing the independent external investigator's recommendations from the report," added Ms Ribbins.

She praised Ms Walters' thoroughness and said all relevant information had now been passed to Leicestershire Police.

The force said its investigations into the alleged abuse were ongoing, and urged anyone with information to call 101 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.